Framväxten av en intern redovisning i Sverige. 1900-1945

Sammanfattning: In this thesis, the historical development of cost accounting in Sweden right up to 1945 is examined. The study has been divided into three periods, 1900-1918, 1919-1936 and 1937-1945 and an examination of the relevant literature, mainly contemporary, has been made. To obtain a notion of the situation prevailing in the companies of the time a number of papers written by students at the Stockholm School of Economics have been analysed. These students had visited various firms and written about their cost accounting systems.The study has been made with the main purpose of giving an account of how cost accounting has developed from a technical point of view. A systematic survey has been carried out using a working model built around elements of costs, cost centres and cost objectives. Another purpose has been to examine the factors which could have influenced the design of cost accounting systems during the period. Therefore, a review of the earlier development in Sweden, the Anglo-Saxon countries and Germany has proved to be important for understanding the rise of cost accounting in Sweden.The development of cost accounting is characterized by the standardization process which went on from 1927 to 1945. This thesis is based on three important standardization proposals, namely that of 1931 regarding terminology, that of 1936 regarding product calculation (full costing) and that of 1945 regarding a normal chart of accounts for industry. Therefore, a theory of standardization is the foundation for this thesis. Institutional theory is referred to as an explanation of how different factors influenced the design of the cost accounting system.There are important conclusions to be drawn. Looking at the cost accounting system certain tendencies can be distinguished: A change was made from after-calculation to pre-calculation; normal costing was recommended; full costing prevailed with a strong connection to accounting and there was a striving for the standardization of terminology, calculations and chart of accounts. The influence from Germany was an important driving force during the whole period. Certain individuals have exerted a strong influence on the design of cost accounting systems. The price changes during and after the First World War gave impulses to use current acquisition costs. Education in cost accounting has had an important influence on the development and an interplay between theory and practice has taken place, since the teachers in higher education also often worked in firms in those days. Naturally, standardization itself has played a dominant part in the development of cost accounting in Sweden.